tonight on "nightline," oil e.r. our cameras are imbedded on the front lines of a life or death rescue mission to save the birds and wildlife endangers in the gulf. but can they win this race against time? last action hero. from pumping iron pioneer to california's corner office. but reality bites for this republican reformer. so, will he be back? it's a revealing "nightline" interview with arnold schwarzenegger. plus, let's eat. who is your favorite neighborhood chef? find out how you can make them a star in our new contest "the people's plate list." >> announcer: from the global resources of abc news, with terry moran, martin bashir and

cynthia mcfadden in new york city, this is "nightline," june 9th, 2010. >> good evening. we begin tonight in the gulf, where 51 days in, the oil is still gushing, bp is still grasping for answers, and residents are still coping with a massive cleanup and bruising economic costs. but people are not the only ones who call the now mrulted waters home, and for the the animals there, countless birds and wildlife, the stakes are high, life or death. and time is running low. as yunji de nies now reports. >> reporter: david hayden is on a rescue mission, searching for the spill's most vulnerable victims. fighting through mangroves. in heat hovering at 100 degrees. as angry birds try to fend him off. he still gets the job done,

capturing three oiled brown pelicans. such a fragile species that they were just taken much the endangered list last year. >> most heavily oiled on the island. they need to be saved. >> reporter: but for every one he saved, there are ten more he'll never reach. on just this three acre parsele, there are more than 15,000 birds. but most of them are in the middle of the island. >> there's plenty on the inside, yeah. but they might be as oiled. >> reporter: he can't get the canoe in there because the mangroves are too thick. and if he were to walk in too far, he could step on eggs and disrupt a nesting ground already threatened with destruction. oil is now washing over these tiny islands, the boom deployed here is too small to keep it out. >> it's the best tool we currently have that's been supplied to us. but for this location that is not sufficient. >> reporter: what tools do you need?

>> this site needs the larger navy booms. that would protect this much better. >> reporter: once the birds are collected, they move quickly to get them in for cleaning. next stop -- >> 104.1. you got it. >> reporter: bird e.r. >> i liken it to be a pediatrician. our patients don't understand what's happening. they're scared out of their minds and they're going to fight back. >> reporter: 30 pelicans have just arrived. including this crate of babies. their brand neufeldters already tai tanlted. >> yesterday was the first day we started receiving babies so the oil must have either hit -- it looks like it actually hit one of the nesting colonies because the birds have it on the underside, as well. >> reporter: dr. erika miller, a veteran of oil spill disasters. you worked a lot of these incidents. how does this compare to some of the spills you worked with before?

>> for me personally, there's, like, no real comparison. we're working really long days, under not exactly prime conditions. we're working in a warehouse in the heat. >> reporter: dr. miller and the rest of the team are work iing shift that smells like pelicans and the fish they eat. it's unbare bly hot in here and it gets even sweatier once you suit up in gear to keep the oil off your skin. we caught up with bart seigle as he took a breather. it's hot in here, the days are long, the work is hard. what keeps you going? >> the need to save these animals. they come in, 50, 60, 75 a day. in the middle of the night, we unload helicopters. it's no easy chore, but somebody's got to do it. >> reporter: bart, from louisiana, says he came down here because he got tired of screaming at the television every time he saw images of the spill.

when you're standing there and washing those animals, what's going through your mind? >> it's like david and goliath. it's like a m.a.s.h. unit. you learn fast. you can't let the birds die. >> reporter: an exam with dr. miller is the first stop on the road to survival. >> they have oil on their bellies. maybe there was a tar ball. >> reporter: and naturally, can they come off? they need you to get that off? >> there's no way that's going to get clean. >> reporter: she is part doctor, part detective. snapping an official photo of each bird for evidence. >> so, we want something from this bird that actually has a little bit of oil on it that can represent this bird and what contaminant was on. >> reporter: is this the link back to bp? >> we have been in spills where we have had a known spiller and we've been cleaning up and suddenly, you look, you go, this oil looks different than the

last few boards that came in. people say, there's 8 billion gallons of oil out there. i can flush my tank now and it's not going to make a difference. >> reporter: from here, the birds are moved into one of these crates where they rest and rehydrate. then, it's off to bart's station for a bath. the oil helps loosen the heavy sludge. it takes two of you to hold him? >> one to work the feathers. >> reporter: from there, it's wash, a blow dry, and back to nature, sort of. they'll hang pool side for the next week. so, this is sort of the recovery room? >> yeah, and it -- it's almost like the outpatient therapy before they are fully on their own. >> reporter: when they're ready, they're tagged and then driven or flown over to the east coast of florida, as far away from the oil spill as they can get them. how can you be sure that the birds won't fly right back to the spill?

>> well, there are no guarantees. that's for sure. >> reporter: and that is the tough reality of the work here, even after all this tlc, half of these birds may not make it. there's a pelican morgue out back. can a bird like this survive? it's hard for me to think of this bird -- >> now that he's in treatment he'll survive. he's got a very good chance. he's in pretty good body condition. he's strong. he's still alert. >> reporter: and as the oil keeps coming, so do the sick birds. this is going to be a huge personal commitment. why do you do this? >> yeah, it is. because it's the right thing to do. we share the planet. and we're screwing it up. and so it's my opinion that, you know, we do what we can to make up for our mistakes. >> reporter: i'm yunji de nies for "nightline" in louisiana. >> yunji de nies with a fascinating look there at the spill's devastating cost. our thanks to her for that

report. and when we come back, we're going to turn to politics, and the man who went from term nail or the to governator, but can this action hero fight lame duck stat does? and will arnold schwarzenegger stat does? and will arnold schwarzenegger be back? 7s7s7s7s7s7s7s7s7s7s 7s7s7s7s7s7s7s7s7s7s7s7s7s7s7s7s stat does? and w[ male announcer ]enegger everyone deserves to be safe. that's why every toyota now comes with the star safety system... standard. it's a combination of five accident avoidance technologies. the star safety system is something that's standard on 100% of toyota vehicles. we always think of safety, even in the concept design of our vehicles. [ male announcer ] the star safety system. now standard. because we know, there's nothing more important to you than your safety. all our new safety features are at toyota.com/safety. that can take so much out of you. i feel like i have to wind myself up just to get out of bed. then...well, i have to keep winding myself up

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arnold schwarzenegger. he rose from big screen action hero to republican reformist in charge of governing california. but this real-life script hasn't exactly enjoyed a hollywood

happy ending. now he's staring down his final months in office, and he's going to end his term on something of a down note. so, what has he learned about politics and what's next? i spent the day with governor arnold schwarzenegger for the "nightline" interview. on primary night in california last night, the big stars of the state took center stage. but the guy who once dominated california politics, who seemed poised a few years back to usher in a new era in the golden state, like ronald reagan before him, he was out of the limelight, strangely muted. these are difficult days for arnold schwarzenegger, and for a guy who has lived his life in the limelight, from his championship body building dales immortalized in the documentary "pumping iron," to his hollywood career, built on action roams like the terminator and conan the barbarian. >> crush your enemies. you see capital gains taxes

going up. >> reporter: the real world of politics has not been easy for california's governor, and for all his relentless self-confidence, he knows it. you've become a very unpopular governor. >> you know something, it's perfectly fine. i understand the mood. i don't blame the people for being upset about what's going on. >> reporter: what's going on in california is a grinding fiscal and political crisis with no end in sight. a $19 billion deficit in the state's budget. a political system in such deep partisan grid lock it makes washington look almost functional. it's all a recipe for deep voter disgust. and a lot of that anger is aimed right at schwarzenegger, who has seen his approval rating collapse to 23%, with 7 in 10 saying they disapprove with the way he's done his job. but he is determined to keep pushing. >> governor arnold schwarzenegger. >> reporter: we caught up with schwarzenegger last week aboard

the uss midway museum in san diego, where he was unveiling operation welcome home, it's an ambitious etch fort to help returning veterans in the state. >> we want them to move smoosly from the battlefront to the home front. >> reporter: the goal? streamline the sometimes confusing process of coming home. >> you say to the veterans, you don't have to run around anymore. you just go to one place, you call and we will pay attention. >> reporter: it's the kind of program tailor made for schwarzenegger right now. it doesn't cost much. it's doable. because the last time schwarzenegger wants to talk about, even think about now, is the end of his career as governor. and this is really a major initiative of what are your last months in office, yeah? >> well, it doesn't matter if it is my last months in office, which it's not. it's my last year in office. but you know, this is irrelevant. we continue on.

we sprint to the finish line. >> reporter: schwarzenegger, though, is sprinting on his own, a lonely figure on the state's political landscape, and in the national gop. when you look at the way the republican party is going here in california, and around the country, rise of the tea party, candidates like rand paul, do you think there's still room in the republican party for someone like you? or are you being squeezed out? >> i don't feel like i'm getting skweegzed out. i feel like i need reforms. it's not the republican party. it's not the democratic party. it's the system that is wrong. what we want to do is create a system where you get rewarded for compromise, rather than get punished for it. >> after arnold, don't we deserve a republican? >> reporter: schwarzenegger was hammered this primary season by republicans running away from him and democrats trashing him. but schwarzenegger is far from the only incumbent politician

getting trashed these days. as president obama struggling with a stumbling economic recovery and a environmental disaster in the gulf, arnold sounds like he's got some sympathy for him. as a governor, how do you rate president obama and his response to the oil spill in the gulf? >> well, i mean, i think he's doing everything that he can. and everything that he's doing to his knowledge. there's no winning in the political arena, so, we all rely on experts to tell you, yus the is to do. >> reporter: as the oil continues to gush into the waters of the gulf, schwarzenegger is blunt about the blame. >> i think one thought not lose sightle of one thing. why do we have this problem? the problem is because we failed as a country to force the oil companies to have a safety device, which, european countries have. what's the safety feature? what device do you have in nothing. because they lobbied and

congress voted against it. >> reporter: there are people that say because of the scale of this ka tras the trophy, bp shod be put out of business. >> that's easier said than done. the fact is, 95% of our, you know, energy comes from fossil fuels. it's, i think, crazy talk. >> reporter: he sounds pragmatic, though many of his reform efforts have failed. but yesterday, primary day, a triumph. a schwarzenegger-backed ballot measure that would do away with party-controlled primaries in favor of open primaries, passed handily. >> you will see extraordinary change in a direction that california will be going and the kind of decisions that will be made here. >> reporter: and then there are programs like operation welcome home, something that can get done for returning soldiers like lance. >> plastic surgeon put this ear back on and put my head back together. had to learn how to walk again and do all that, and i've seen

the worst of it, and operation welcome home and everything that's going on here has really helped me. >> reporter: so, as the race to succeed him rechs up, schwarzenegger is looking to make a mark where he can. and given the state's deep and entractable problems, a question. did california terminate the governator? he just won't have it. >> you never have the surrender kind of altitude. remember munich, trying to break, i couldn't. 500 pounds on the bench press. and i tried it many times after that, but the 11th time, i did it. so, people fail in sports, people fail all the time in many other things. that doesn't mean that you give up. it means that you continue on and you keep saying, "i'll be back." that is the important thing. >> reporter: he'll be back. and schwarzenegger told me he won't think about what he does next until the day he leaves office. when we come back, what do

you get when you step inside the kitchen with master chef gavin kaysen and his mouth watering repier recipes? tonight's "plate list." boss: hey, those gecko ringtones you put on our website are wonderful. people love 'em! gecko: yeah, thank you sir. turnedout nice. boss: got another one for you. anncr: at geico.com, it's eay to get a free rate quote, manage your policy, make payments or even file a claim! boss: now that's a ringtone. gecko: uh yeah...it's interestng.... certainly not the worst rigtone i've ever heard...

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>> announcer: "nightline" continues from new york city with terry moran. >> we're going to turn now to the kitchen, and a master chef whose star continues to rise. he is american-born and bred, but the mouth watering recipes now attracting diners to his kitchen draw on the french tradition. not that it started that way. as gavin kaysen explains in tonight's "plate list." >> i asked for an easy bake oven when i was 7. i would just eat the raw dough. you know how long it takes to cook with that lightbulb? it's terrible. >> coach the duck egg for five minutes in the shell. then we peel it. it comes down to this and then we just bread it and then we deep fry it for the yolk just to get runny. took the water crest leaves and the ramp leaves. a little bit of spinach and we

pureeed it. basically a mac and cheese dressing. a little bit in the center. beautiful radishes. spring onions, which we grilled ahead of time. beautiful sugar snap paps. english peas. water cress. my kitchen is so quiet. a little bit of the duck here and louisiana crawfish. we're going to put the egg in the center. a little nest. and some cheese. and there you have a crispy duck egg. started cooking when i was 15 because my mom said i had to get a summer job. i decided to work at subway and i didn't meet jared there.

this guy next door named george moved in and he opened up a pasta restaurant and he would come in every day and he would order a tuna fish sandwich on a round bun. he would buy it, walk out of the restaurant and he would throw it in the garbage and walk to his restaurant. finally i had the courage to ask him, i said, george, i don't understand why you buy it if you don't eat it. he said, i'm just watching how you are with the guests. you know a lot of people that come into this neighborhood, and i opened this restaurant and so i would like for you to work there. i said, sure, how much you are going to pay me? a dollar more than what you're making now. i said great. little did i know at that time that it would change my life. we have a rack of lamb here. we're going to start it in a hot pan. meanwhile, i have some little

gnocci here. i have roasted eggplant. some squash. red onions. red, yellow peppers and caper berries and a little green sioux key knee. i still to this day will always keep a list of goals in my wall let that i change and update every six months. okay, i'll see what i've accomplished in the last six months. if it's done, i check it off and rewrite the list. so, we baste. let's go. put a little bit of that. rack of lamb. i'm a champion of rice krispie

making. they pop out of the pot and stick to your stomach -- the back. what's better is when it comes off the spoon. the best real estate possible. that wooden spoon? oh, man. i love it. >> man, that looks good. we're going to launch a new competition tonight. we want you to get excited about this. if you get a favorite local chef in your neighborhood, how is your chance to rise up, make him or her the star of their own "nightline" plate list. just go to the "nightline" page at abcnews.com and nominate your candidate for summer long contest we're having. we'll pick the finalists and soon you, the audience, are you go to help crown the winner of our first people's plate list. we're going to be right back with tonight's closing argument. >> jimmy: tonight, teri hatcher, massive attack, and the producers of "lost" to tell us

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